Victory in the Vale

The Box

There must be some better way to keep that thing safe...

Forgive me, journal. I must be vague in this entry, lest my allies find some way to read this. But first, I should relate the events since my last writing.

We tracked Skalmad to his fortress in the Feywild, where an artifact known as the Stone Cauldron lay. This was the key to his seemingly-unquenchable life – his eye had merely been attuned to it, to return him there upon the moment of his death. I believe he’d made too frequent use of it, however, for when we arrived, his body had been claimed by the soul of Vard, the old King of the trolls who’d turned the Trollhaunt into his empire long ago.

Of course, a creature raised from death is no match to a specialized group such as ours. Elyas in particular has no end or radiant prayers to disrupt the undead, and I had a few tricks up my own sleeve to deal with them, particularly the insubstantial troll-wraiths that emerged from the Cauldron at Vard’s command.

We defeated him, and claimed his horde. Not only was the Therund Baron’s son’s sword, Sunwrath, reclaimed, but so was the Eye of Moran, which Skalmad had sought to use as a symbol of his authority among his kind. It is a potent implement, as I’d imagined, and the ever-discerning gaze seems to make all things arcane simpler for me to understand.

A grave portent in the heavens led us back to Winterhaven, where Elyas met with one of the members of his religious order. Apparently, Orcus has made some move in the Underdark, and as a cleric of the Raven Queen, he is bound to oppose it. He has not told us the nature of this threat, but we all have our secrets…

Hio and Nebin found the box… I do not think I can trust them to let it alone, though it’s anyone’s guess which of the two of them will make the next move. When we return, I shall have to research some greater magic to seal it away. Perhaps I could put the whole thing in a bag of holding and somehow sew it shut, permanently?

The… thing inside… it still moves. All the more reason to leave it shut. Forever.